Brown may concede to televised election debate
By Liz Stephens
Speculation is growing that Gordon Brown will agree to face down David Cameron in a US presidential-style television debate prior to the next general election.
The pressure has been growing on the prime minister after business secretary Lord Mandelson said on Tuesday that Mr Brown would be prepared to agree to a televised debate.
Downing Street was quick to deny this but now the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have waded into the debate – with the backing of the Hansard Society.
The Hansard Society, which hosted the recent speakers hustings, said a televised debate would encourage public engagement with politics.
Chief executive Fiona Booth said: “We are encouraged to hear that serious consideration is being given by the parties, to participate in a televised leaders’ debate.”
Tory sources have also indicated they are happy for the debate to include all three main political parties, removing the past objections to the Liberal Democrats getting equal billing which have stalled previous attempts to negotiate for a televised debate.
However, with the current state of play of the opinion polls for the Tories and the Labour party it is unclear whether either party stands to gain much.
A form of ‘political chicken’ has broken out since the idea came into the spotlight with Labour sources suggesting David Cameron would be well advised to avoid the issue after he scored badly in comparison to his opponent David Davis in the Tory leadership debate.
The Tories hit back, speculating that Gordon Brown’s reticence was due to his track record in Commons exchanges with Mr Cameron.
Earlier in the week Lord Mandelson rubbished this theory and called the Tory leader out.
“While Cameron is good with words, he doesn’t have the ideas or policies to back them. I think people would see through the smile,” he said.
“The more the public sees of them, the more they’d realise that Gordon is the man with the substance.”
Gordon Brown’s aides have failed to completely rule out the proposal and a senior Downing Street aide has indicated that discussions on the issue had been held in recent weeks.
Yesterday David Cameron wrote to the prime minister “to clarify the government’s position on the issue of a television debate”.
Countering the argument given by Tony Blair that PM’s questions already fill the need for debate between the party leaders, he said: “Prime minister’s questions simply cannot compete with the accessibility of a primetime studio debate.
“I want the chance to set out the choice at the next election to many more people than those who watch on a Wednesday lunchtime.”
Televised electoral debates are a fixture in the US, where they are seen as having the potential to turn elections.
However, critics argue they would encourage the American style of ‘personality politics’ in the UK.
